Espionage

DoJ: Military Left Pentagon Leaker in Job After Catching Him

Published MAY 18 2023

Story

Image credit: Reuters [vis The New York Times]

The Facts

The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) says the military warned Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air National Guard member accused of leaking classified US military assessments, multiple times about his handling of classified information.
Forbes
A DOJ filing Wednesday said that Air Force officials caught Teixeira taking notes and conducting deep-dive searches for classified material — including stuffing a note into his pocket after reviewing secret information inside his unit months before he was charged with the leaks.
nytimes
The filing also said his "disclosures (and associated boasting) continued even after being admonished by his superiors on two separate occasions” — once in September 2022 and once in October 2022. He was reportedly told to "cease-and-desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information" in February.
Axios
The cyber transport systems specialist was charged last month under the Espionage Act for allegedly sending the documents to 150 friends on social media. He told them he would send more information on Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran, China, and other countries.
New York Post
The government has cited a history of violent remarks and racial threats in arguing against releasing Teixeira, but his defense is seeking $20K bail. His father said he would monitor his son with security cameras around his house.
nytimes
Teixeira could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
NBC

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Teixeira is a traitorous leaker of classified information, in addition to harboring racist, antisemitic, and homophobic views. His online history exemplifies perfectly the growing white nationalist movement that puts personal ideology above America and its values of democracy and inclusion. He is an obvious threat to the country and should be treated as such by prosecutors.

wapo

Establishment-critical narrative

The story here is not Teixeira, but the information he released to the world. These leaks show the Biden administration is making America and its allies weaker and keeping the US in indefinite "forever wars." This is just a case of the elites solidifying power by forcing average citizens to remain forever fearful of external enemies.